O'Brien among Senate candidates to appear on Women's Equality Party line

Nine Democrats running for state Senate will file petition signatures to run on the Women's Equality Party line, including Rochester-area Sen. Ted O'Brien.

If certified by the state Board of Elections, Cuomo, Hochul and the Democrats' statewide ticket will appear on the line, as will nine Senate candidates -- including incumbent Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, and Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers.

“The extraordinary number of New Yorkers who have shown their support for the Women’s Equality Party sends a clear message that voices of women will be heard and counted where it matters most – at the ballot box,” Hochul, D-Buffalo, said in a statement.

Creating a new, statewide ballot line in New York requires 15,000 valid voter signatures submitted to the Board of Elections.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino has also gotten in on the act, submitting what he said was 62,000 signatures last week to create the Stop Common Core line, referring to the tougher education standards.

In some Senate races, candidates will appear on as many as four lines. In Dutchess and Putnam counties, Gipson will appear on the Democratic, Working Families, Women's Equality and Tax Relief Now lines, should the signatures for the latter two ballot spaces be certified.

Gipson's Republican opponent, Dutchess County Legislator Sue Serino, also plans on appearing on four lines: Republican, Conservative, Independence and Stop Common Core.

Jon Campbell is an Albany correspondent for Gannett's New York outlets. He's been working out of the Albany Bureau since 2011, covering Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration and the state Legislature. Previously, he was the environment and health reporter for the Press &amp; Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton. A native of Lockport, Niagara County, he's an avid Bills and Sabres fan.